SAN MARCOS: City breaks ground on new park atop ridgeline

Double Peak Park is one of several new rec areas San Marcos plans to build

SAN MARCOS -- In the latest effort to develop land for
recreation, city officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday
for what will be San Marcos' largest park.

Mayor Jim Desmond and City Council members Rebecca Jones, Chris
Orlando and Mike Preston joined representatives of the extensive
San Elijo Hills development, its parent company and community
members at Wednesday's ceremony for Double Peak Park and Open
Space.

Scheduled to open next summer, the 200-acre park will straddle
the Cerra de los Posas ridgeline, which divides San Elijo Hills in
the southern end of the city from the rest of San Marcos.

The park is the third of several recreation areas the city plans
to open during the next several years.

The city is spending $100,000 on Double Peak Park. San Elijo
Hills developer HomeFed will foot the rest of the bill -- about
$750,000 -- under an agreement the company made with the city
several years ago.

Craig Sargent-Beach, the city's director of community services,
said the park's location on the Cerra de los Posas ridgeline means
that, on clear days, it will offer impressive views all the way to
the Coronado Island to the south, to San Clemente Island and Santa
Catalina Islands to the west, and to the San Jacinto Mountains near
Palm Springs to the north.

"It's absolutely the best views in town," he said. "Actually,
it's probably the best views in North County."

A 10-acre section of Double Peak Park will be developed with
observation areas, an amphitheater and interpretative kiosks. Play
equipment, a shade structure, picnic tables, restrooms, a
caretaker's home, and parking are also planned.

The rest of the park will be left in its natural state except
for trails that will lead up to the peak and to existing paths
along the ridgeline and down to Discovery Lake 2 1/2 miles to the
north.

Orlando said the combination of views, trails and carefully
selected amenities will make the park a centerpiece of the city's
trail system.

"It's really quite a spectacular spot," he said. "Most of it
will be a natural area that folks can enjoy via the trails. But
there'll also be the main area. And I think the nice thing about it
is it's going to allow a lot more people access to the trails. …
You'll be able to drive to the park and get to the trails, as
opposed to parking down below and having to hike all the way up
there."

The park's completion will put the city closer to its goal of
having 5 acres of park space for every 1,000 residents. The city
had about 180 acres of parks for more than 80,000 residents when
the council made new parks a priority last year.

Total park space went up by 30 acres in September, when
Hollandia Park opened in east San Marcos.

In August, the city broke ground on Sunset Park, a 19-acre
recreation area scheduled to open in 2009 on the west side of the
city. Double Peak Park is the third park. A fourth park, the
54-acre South Lake Park off Twin Oaks Valley Road, is being
designed.

The city also plans to replace a linear park along Autumn Drive
that was lost to the Sprinter light-rail line, develop the area
around Discovery Lake into a park, and create a small recreation
area next to the San Marcos Civic Center.

Plans for revamping Mission Sports Park near Palomar College
also are in the works.